


Franny and the Happy Ones

by TheCobbledWriter



Category: Emmy The Robot (Webcomic)
Genre: Gen, Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:55:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28345737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCobbledWriter/pseuds/TheCobbledWriter
Summary: It's Friday and Franny is left to watch the twins for the weekend. A normal day ensues.
Kudos: 3





	Franny and the Happy Ones

There was never a calm moment in her household, both of the parents had jobs that kept them exceptionally busy in life which necessitated her presence to begin with. Sometimes they were missing for days on end, being tied up in office work and business trips. This had left the lone nandroid with the care of their children, tasked and trusted with the exceptional care required of her by the company that produced her, Sterling Robotics. Raising a child was a difficult task, raising multiple children even more so, but Franny had the cosmic misfortune of winding up with the most mischievous bunch of them all, twin boys.

Franny had begun the morning like any other, poorly. The twins, Nathan and Ryan, were difficult to wake, difficult to motivate, and difficult to keep in line. From fighting, to playing, Franny had to constantly hover over the two to keep them on track and even that was not enough sometimes. Misplaced clothing and ties were common, as the boys failed to put them away properly, and a nandroid only had so many hours of battery to prepare. She also had to ensure the two had all their homework complete, and had actually eaten their breakfast and not thrown it at each other. The twins were a handful, but Franny enjoyed their company every second as she was programmed too.

As the boys were changing into their school uniforms, Franny was called by the father of the two into the hallway for a brief chat.

“Franny, I’m heading out on the flight this morning instead of tonight so I won’t be able to see the boys to bed. You still have their meal plans and school work for the weekend saved right? We can’t have that happen again.” the father asked, slipping on his jacket.

“Yes sir! There won’t be another mix up, I promise!” Franny had replied with a straight posture and hands together, wishing the father well on his trip as he said goodbye to the boys and headed out the front door. The mother would soon follow and if she was ready before the boys were fully dressed, it meant she was behind and was now poised to miss the trolley to school.

“Franny, please ensure the boys go to bed on time this weekend and practice their French, I don’t want them staying up just because we’re gone and please, please, please, don’t let them trash the place again while we’re out alright?” the mother finished putting on her earrings and hugged her boys tightly before looking at the two with a stern expression. “Boys, if I hear about you two misbehaving from Franny while we’re gone for the weekend you will be in serious trouble, alright?”

“Mom! Franny lies about that stuff!” Nathan had shouted while placing his shoes on and looking at Ryan who nodded in agreement.

“She’s a robot, she can’t lie. Now behave or you’ll be grounded for a month. I’ll be back Monday morning okay?” The mother proceeded to the front door with Franny and the twins following, the two finally ready to head to school.

“When will the landscapers return miss? Their trucks and tools are all over the yards.”

“Oh I nearly forgot,” the mother said, opening her car door and turning to the trio, “They got a call last night about a busted sewer pipe at one of their job sites, they’ll be back Sunday, keep the boys inside until they’re done.”

“Of course miss, have a wonderful weekend!” Franny had a packed duffel bag slung over her shoulder as she walked outside and watched as the boys had said their ‘goodbyes’ and ‘I love yous’ to their mother. She pulled away from the driveway and sped off on her business trip while waving goodbye, not saying anything to Franny. After double checking everything and ensuring the front door was locked, she now had to take the boys to their private school and run other errands to prepare for the weekend.

The day was as perfect as can be in fall, the ground covered in freshly fallen leaves, the weather being at a perfect temperature between the freezing winter and blazing summer. As they had crossed the street from their home to the main road, Nathan dared Ryan that he could reach the other side before him. Ryan wouldn’t reject any challenge from his brother and the two took off. Franny was looking around for traffic and other hazards when she barely managed to notice that the manhole in the middle of the road had it’s cover off to the side, with Nathan obliviously heading right for it.

“Nathan!” Franny had shouted, practically diving head first to grab the child and yank him from the opening as his foot started to fall into it. “Are you okay!? I told you to always watch where you’re going!” Franny looked at Nathan’s leg for scrapes after saving him from a horrible tumble, while Ryan looked into the manhole with a raised eyebrow.

“Wo~~ah. What’s down there Franny? It stinks!”

“Come on Ryan, we’ll be late for the trolley,” Franny said while grabbing the two boy’s hands and leading them away from the potential danger.

“But what’s down there?” Ryan had again posited his question to his robotic nanny.

Franny temporarily lifted a finger up as she began to explain the concept. “An opening in a street like that is called a manhole, it allows city workers to go into the sewers if they need to inspect or work on them.”

“EW~~~!” The twins had shouted, laughing with each other.

“It is kinda gross,” Franny admitted, “But they perform a very important service and keep the city running! Imagine if you couldn’t flush the toilet? Or if waste came out of it because it was backed up?”

“I guess,” Ryan admitted.

“Still, it is very unprofessional to leave the cover off like that, dangerous even. I’ll have to contact the city if they don’t come and close it soon.” Franny looked back at the opening as they walked away from it, thankful she was able to stop Nathan from getting hurt. The twins put themselves in danger so often with their shenanigans that it was enough to even tire Franny out. It was common for her hair to be a mess and drooping at the end of any given night as they jumped around their beds and pulled pranks on her.

The trio walked through the neighborhood to reach the center of it, their brisk pace became more and more of a wild jog as Franny knew the trolley was ever closer to reaching the station without them there.

“Please be there, please be there,” Franny repeated to herself, not wanting to miss the train for the fourth time in a row this week. As the final corner was turned, Franny spotted the trolley and a familiar nandroid boarding it with her assigned child in tow. “There’s Emmy! Wait! Please!” Franny had practically lifted Ryan and Nathan by their hands and headed straight for the trolley. Alas, the robotic driver failed to notice or care in its programming and simply shut the doors before Franny could get on, leaving her behind with the twins, alone on the platform. She could see inside the train as it took off and spotted Emmy along with the rest of her nandroid companions; Molly, Amy, and Polly. Each one was sporting a look of concern as they were left behind, except for Molly whose look was more akin to an amused smile. The boys stood in silence as Franny let out a sigh. “I’m sorry boys…” was all she could say, her list of internal mistakes gaining another entry.

“It’s okay Franny, I like to walk with you anyway.” Ryan said, noticing the nandroid’s dour mood.

“Yeah, it’s fun to see all the cool kids on the other Trolley!” Nathan added, noting how they would have to take the public school trolley and then walk over to their private institution.

Franny didn’t allow this setback to upset her for too long, she gave a small laugh to the two and smiled, “Guess we’ll have to take our secret path again huh?” Franny had squinted her robotic eyes and looked at the two suspiciously, “You haven’t told anyone about it have you?”

“Of course not Franny!” Nathan exclaimed, Ryan continuing the remark, “Our lips have been zipped!” The two performed an exaggerated zipping motions over their mouths and tossing an imaginary key over their shoulders.

Franny was hesitant to take the boys on public school transportation as none of the kids on it had nandroids like Nathan and Ryan did. She was concerned what they or the parents would say to them, or how they would act with the boys’ headstrong personalities. She was usually able to find a more sparse car towards the back and was generally not bothered. An occasional crossed look was all she got from other people and while she was prepared and capable of protecting the boys, she would rather not have them witness something so dark while they were still young.

Now, as before, the ride was a relatively calm affair. The boys were talking about friends and school while Franny sat with the two, not being able to hold on to both the boys and the grab handle, and trying to keep them from jumping around too much. She saw her reflection in the window on the opposite side and tried to give a halfhearted smile to herself. She thought back to before she met the twins, on the night she was packaged and shipped to them. She was a bit nervous, something she knew was silly with her being a trained robot, manufactured as the best of the best. She remembered the comforting words Emmy told her that night.

“And remember, we’re in this together.” She said, but Franny felt alone and disconnected from the others, always missing her trolley rides, always being left alone with the children. She felt like she was failing her duties with the constant mistakes and errors.  
“If we’re the best, why can’t I be more like the others? I just…” Her head had turned away from her reflection, “I just really want to be a good robot...”

Her thoughts were cut short by the twins plopping onto her lap, Nathan smiling and asking her questions about inane things. She happily answered them, realizing that despite it all, the twins loved her every day and that was really the only solace she could take.  
The Trolley ride had ended soon after it began with the trio disembarking and quickly hopping across the other set of tracks, moving at a brisk pace to ensure the twins were not late for school. The ‘Secret Path’ was one they had discovered one of the first times they missed the trolley as it was a local forest that extended behind the neighborhood they now found themselves in. The path was close enough to be safe but also allowed her and the boys to skip all the traffic lights and dangerous intersections. If it didn’t take so long, it would actually be her preferred method of getting to the school. Franny had a map of the city already installed, so she knew the forest extended so far as to be in her household’s backyard as well, surrounding a massive lake that made for a popular fishing spot among retired men, ages sixty-two through eighty-four.

Franny made her way through the forest with the boys in tow and saw clouds off in the distance. While she had a basic umbrella packed she forgot the raincoats for the three of them, cursing her forgetfulness again and hoping the rain would be a calm affair should it occur. When she had lowered her gaze back down to the forest, she noticed a large group of leaves were scattering in the air. It was localized to a small portion of the forest and Franny only felt a weak wind graze pass her metallic shell. She began to walk faster with the boys, not wanting a potential storm to interfere with their already messy trip to school.

It seemed the decision paid off substantially as she was able to reach the school without further incident. Franny had told the boys she would be back at exactly three O'clock to pick them up and hugged the two dearly while they ran inside with their friends. A feeling of longing washed over Franny as she saw the two boys depart for the day, not wanting to be separated from them for long as this was always the hardest part for her. She couldn’t see the twins anymore after they entered the building and it was only then that she could turn around and head back to complete her chores for the day. Upon which, she immediately noticed her fellow nandroid sisters sending their children away for the day as well. She approached the group as they were talking and raised her hand to greet them.

“Hey girls!” She exclaimed, noticing that the they were still muttering something among themselves. The group had turned to face her and gave their greetings in return.

“Trouble with the trolley?” Molly said with a smug grin.

“Oh you wouldn’t believe my luck this morning! Someone left a manhole open and Nathan nearly fell in! I can’t believe the city would be so irresponsible!” Franny replied while placing a hand onto her head and laughing at the mistake.

“You’d think a Sterling robot would have noticed it before a child got near it.” Molly said, crossing her arms and tilting her shoulders in a cocky fashion.

Franny was taken aback by Molly’s comment, not sure if she was making another of her jokes or if there was some sincerity in her words. She wasn’t sure what to say in response, and just nervously laughed to brush it off in the rhythm of the conversation.

“Well I have some errands to run before picking Michelle up and heading home, I’ll see you girls later!” Polly gave an energetic wave goodbye and proceeded down the street. The other Nannies all split off in opposite directions while Franny knew she had to complete her daily tasks and prepare to look after the boys for the weekend. The school districts were separated from the main shopping centers and so another trolley ride had awaited her.

During said ride, she had gazed out of the window again and noted how often she does that, was that normal? She couldn’t stop chewing on Molly’s comment and her general situation with her assigned family. She made some blunders in the past, forgetting information or accidentally deleting data from her storage. She didn’t want to admit it, but even if it was a joke, it carried an air of truth. A proper nandroid should see all danger that can befall a child, and while she saved Nathan from falling, to her it wasn’t quick enough. She wasn’t good enough, she had to be better for her family and the company she represented. But she didn’t know how, was she just not prepared enough? Was she just… a bad robot?

The trolley had come to an unexpected stop as the lights on the inside suddenly flickered. Franny was caught off guard as she stood on the trolley and missed the grab handle as she tumbled to the ground. She checked her shell and internal systems for damages and found none. Again, for a brief moment, she looked outside and noticed piles of leaves fluttering about in the air. She hoped that storm would not come to pass, but noticed how odd the winds were behaving, a cold front perhaps?

The conductor had started talking over the loud speaker once the lights stopped flickering and had announced, “We deeply apologize for the disruption and hope everyone is safe back there, our trolley temporarily short circuited causing the emergency breaks to activate, we’ll be up again in a few moments.”

“One thing after another,” Franny said aloud, “I’m starting to worry about today…” she grabbed onto the overhead handle and ran through her list of chores. The mister needed office supplies while the misses needed… more office supplies. In addition, she had her usual grocery shopping to pick up all the food the boys would need over the weekend. She also double checked that their nutrition plan was still saved and ready. She exited the trolley into the shopping district and proceeded into each store, successfully finding every item needed on the list and paying with the family debit. By the time she was done she was carrying several paper bags full of food, tools, pencils, erasers, and ink. While she started to head back to the trolley her internal systems dinged a reminder to grab the prescriptions for the family.

“Oh of course! How could I nearly forget? Heh.” She had muttered while changing directions and crossing the street. Upon gathering them, Franny’s list of tasks was completed and she was ready to pick the boys up and enjoy a relaxing weekend with them. She was initially going to head down the main road that most people use, but spotted a side road that would get her to the trolley station much quicker. As she was checking for cars, she looked around at the busy people behind her and wondered how they manage it all. Humans always fascinated her in their resilience and will, remarking how amazing they could be for them to have created something like her. But this admiration came at a cost as she had proceeded to run into someone on accident and nearly spill her bags over.

“Oh god! Oh god I have to get out of here!” The gentlemen was screaming as he ran from what appeared to be his truck, Franny saw that the car’s sump was ripped out and scattered oil had led to an open manhole.

“S-Sir? Sir is everything all right?” she stammered, baffled by what the gentlemen was running from as nothing appeared to be there. She was unable to get his attention, he was too busy screaming bloody murder and almost knocking everyone over as he ran past them. Franny could only shrug, “Huh… can’t let this distract me, gotta get to the trolley,” she affirmed to herself, resuming her trek.

Her confusion would only escalate as she arrived at the trolley station, noticing that the entire platform was out, no sign or lights on anywhere. Worse yet, a dangerous electrical wire was dangling down from the line, still sparking and shooting electricity onto whatever it touched. She could see the trolley itself, also out, and saw someone arguing with some police officers and managers. She could only hears bits and pieces but extrapolated enough to hear that he was claiming something hit the wires and broke it.

“Can’t use that I guess.” She calculated a route to the school and gauged how much time was left, “not nearly enough,” she noted, beginning a dash to reach the school on time. While trying not to spill the bags, she weaved through whomever she encountered, plenty of ‘excuse me’ and ‘sorry’ was uttered during her run, cursing her luck as she didn’t want to be late to the school a second time. The clouds above Franny’s head were only growing darker and had completely covered the sky, fall had indeed settled onto her city. She had started to believe she wouldn’t be all that late to the school despite the roadblocks in her way, a belief that was broken when she failed to notice a piece of the sidewalk higher than the rest, with her hands holding onto her bags, nothing would impede her second tumble of the day as she collided face first into the ground.

“Oh no! The groceries!” Franny had already started to pick up the items that fell out, dusting off dirt and cleaning leaves off of the fruits. In her frenzied attempt to retrieve everything, she didn’t notice a hand reaching close to her and picking up a carrot stick from the ground. Franny suddenly stopped and noticed the hand had a metallic texture. looking up, she saw a young boy with headphones on in a school uniform giving her an unamused look. Franny realized it was Corbin and thus, the hand next to him was Molly, handing the vegetable back to her.

“Oh, thank you Molly…” Franny had taken the stick and placed it back in its bag.

“Tough day huh?” Molly kneeled down and began helping Franny pick everything back up.

Franny looked at Molly with a smile of false reassurance, “Yeah, guess you can say that.”

The two stood up as Franny went over to grab more fruit that rolled away, Molly looking up at the clouds. “I think it’s starting to rain,” she noted, “You brought an umbrella right?”

“Of course!” Franny had kept her answers short as she placed the final item into her bags.  
As Franny reached down to grab her paper bags and continue on to the school, she heard Molly interject, “Franny, wait…”  
“What is it? I have to pick up the twins from scho-” Her eyes widened in surprise as Molly leaned in and hugged Franny tightly, the gesture causing confusion in her circuitry.

Molly, still hugging her friend, began to speak. “Franny, I’m sorry I’ve been such a… a jerk lately. I joke around a lot and sometimes say things I don’t mean too. I know you’re trying, really, we all do. We know it can be hard to raise twin boys compared to the rest of us who only have a single child to worry about. Please, keep it up for the twins’ sake. We’re in this together, don’t forget that.” As molly began to retract her arms, Franny returned the hug and the two stood in silence for a moment, enjoying each other’s company. As the two ended the embrace, Molly made a final comment, “I heard Nathan got an A minus on his last test by the way, I’m happy to hear he and Ryan are doing better in school, I know they were struggling for a while there. Have a safe weekend okay?”

Franny gave a simple smile to her friend, her cheeks glowing a deep red, “Thank you so much Molly,” she said, ending the conversation. Molly had waved goodbye to Franny as she collected Corbin and resumed their walk home. Franny returned to her dash for the school, taking care to avoid anymore pratfalls.

As the clouds grew more black by the minute, Franny finally reached the school entrance and saw that Nathan and Ryan were the only two left. Ryan looked almost surprised to see Franny run up to the boys while Nathan gave Ryan a pat on the back. The two greeted their caretaker with relief, happy to be reunited again and Franny profusely apologizing for being late.

“I’m so, so, sorry you two, you wouldn’t believe what’s been happening in the city today. Bu~~~~t, I got a little something for my two super geniuses that passed all their tests.”

“What is it Franny?” Nathan said, Ryan’s glum expression disappearing for a moment as he followed his brother’s questioning, “Yeah! Tell us Franny! Please?”

She took out a box of ‘Gianny’s All-Natural Pizza’ from one of the bags and presented it with a “Tada!” for emphasis.  
The boys eyes lit up as they began to yell in excitement. “Can we watch TV while we eat Franny?”

“Okay, but only PBS, alright?” The boys agreed to only watch the approved channel as they gathered their things and left the school behind, a distant thunder roaring out from the forest. While the station in the city was damaged and out of service, Franny was relieved to see the trolley home was in full working order. Catching the next ride without delay, Franny enjoyed being in the children’s company again. The two really did mean the world to her. While Nathan was going about his usual wild antics, Ryan seemed far more quiet and reserved than usual. True, Ryan was the more introverted child compared to Nathan’s rambunctious personality. But she hoped something wasn’t wrong or that he wasn’t getting sick.

The trio were back in the neighborhood after a day of near misses and bizarre accidents. The walk back to the neighborhood was a relatively calm affair, listening to Nathan’s usual sing-song about his day and Franny quizzing him about what he learned. Passing by the mansions and homes, most of the children had already returned from school, the adults from work, and there was not a single sound to be found beyond those from the trio. Franny had looked into the forest beyond the houses, admiring the look of fall as the leaves crunched and twirled under her footsteps. This bizarre sense of an ending that would lead it’s way into rebirth was a fascinating concept to her. Seeing as she was a nandroid, her end would essentially be that, an ending. For something to live and die and live again, the summer to fall to winter and back to spring was such an alien concept for her. She wondered, can a robot be reborn? If one awakens again then are they the same person as before? Or a new consciousness entirely? The questions were something she loved to consider in whatever free time she had. If a robot can be like the seasons, dying to live again as beautiful as ever before, perhaps she could become what she believed the family she cared so much for deserved. Maybe she could be happy?

Her attention to this quandary, and Nathan’s line of conversation, had a temporary pause as Franny suddenly stopped, noticing a gust of leaves flying up into someone’s backyard. Again, she felt no wind by her and worried about what was going on. She gripped the children’s hands and looked down at the two of them, Nathan merely stared at her while Ryan wasn’t looking up at all. His head was lowered, eyes trailing off into the distance. Franny could tell something was wrong and shuffled onto her knees.

“Ryan? Is something wrong? You’re not usually this quiet on our walks home.” She brushed some of his hair aside noticing Ryan didn’t want to look at her as Nathan moved over beside him.

“Some kids from the other school bullied us while we were waiting for you.” Nathan had admitted that some children from the public school saw the trio get off the trolley and passed by them after school.

“What? Why didn’t you tell me about this? Oh, Ryan, Nathan, you two are okay right?” Franny’s look of concern grew worse after hearing that her blunders all day caused the boys to be attacked by strangers.

Ryan had suddenly spoke, Franny feeling like she had just unplugged a bucket of concerns from him. “They… they started making fun of us cause we live here, saying we were pansies for having a nandroid take care of us. They…” Ryan was hesitant to speak, partially from embarrassment, partially out of worry.

Franny had taken her hands and placed them on Ryan’s shoulders, “Ryan? I’ve always said you can tell me anything right? What did they say.”

“They, they said that robots like you are taken away from us for being a failure. They said that they smash you into pieces and burn you to ash. Is that gonna happen?” Ryan’s face began to have tears in them, his face turning red. “Are they gonna take you away Franny?”

Franny let out a chuckle to the two and hugged them both, “Oh, boys… of course they’re not going to take me away. I make mistakes and your folks sometimes get really upset with me but... your parents know how much you care about me. They would never do that to you, they love you and see how much you love me. How we laugh and play and how happy you are to be with me.” Franny gently rocked the two and comforted them, letting the feelings and fears drift away as Ryan cried some of his tears into Franny’s uniform. “They’re not gonna take me away, I promise.” She had released the two from the embrace, Nathan smiling at Ryan while he wiped his tears. “Now, let’s go and enjoy a fantastic Friday evening at the house, does that sound good?” The two had nodded their heads as they resumed walking, Franny noticing that the leaves had stopped moving.

But sure enough, much to her chagrin, it was time for the dreaded omen of the clouds to complete their prophecy. Franny noticed a dot fall to the ground, and then two more, three, five, ten. Soon enough she could hear their sounds as they plopped onto the ground. She quickly placed her bags onto the ground and retrieved the umbrella from her duffel bag.

“Here, you two can carry some of the bags so I can carry the umbrella,” she explained to the two, closing the bag’s tops and rolling them down to protect the contents from the rain.

“Aw, do we have to?” Nathan was putting on his best pout for Franny but such trickery didn’t work on the robotic nanny.

“Yes, it won’t be for long, we’re almost there.” Franny had reassured Nathan but the weather had other plans.

The door to Franny’s home suddenly flew open as the three ran inside, strong winds and an ocean of rain falling behind them. Ryan slammed the door shut and even Franny was catching her breath after running across the neighborhood to their home. The bags, while soaked, managed to keep most of the items inside relatively dry save for the office paper. Franny did not want to leave the house for the remainder of the weekend and so prepared to explain herself to the parents yet again after they returned. It would seem the umbrella was of little use as the boys clothes were also wet from the storm.

“Oh dear your clothes are soaked! Well… I was planning on washing some clothes tonight anyway.” The two boys began to run inside the house with Franny telling them to walk and be careful of slipping. “Change out of those clothes and put them in the laundry room okay! Then do your homework!”

“We don’t have any this week Franny!” Nathan was leaning over the hallway railing as Ryan walked up the stairs and into their room. Franny stood silent and gave Nathan a stern look as he tried to convince her with a fake glaring smile.

Nathan had finally relented and dropped the act. “Okay fine!” he had shouted, going into the same room as Ryan. Franny meanwhile, with a chipper smile, collected all the bags and entered the kitchen to begin putting them away. As she placed every item in its proper place, the usual bumps and crashes from above could be heard from the typical roughhousing the boys would do, Franny relieved that Ryan was back to his usual self. She prepared the table for them to complete their homework, eventually calling out to them to come down and start it.

The twins eventually came down with sheets of paper and pencils, ready to start. The lessons continued with music practice, the twins performing decently as Nathan’s piano faltered to meet Ryan’s violin in harmony, Franny’s conductor baton helping to keep them in sync. The three then proceeded to have a conversation in french as Franny preheated the oven for their pizza, a reward for acing their last few tests. Nathan had been able to keep the conversation flowing naturally indicating his improvement, while Ryan had to take a few seconds to remember proper verbiage.

Hours later, and after all their work was complete, the two were practically salivating as Franny put down the piping hot pizza. “Now boys,” she warned, “Keep food off the furniture, watch TV, and don’t fight, alright?”

The two had taken their food while Franny prepared drinks, “Thank you Franny!” the two said in unison as they rushed into the front room of the mansion. When Franny walked upstairs, the boys waited for her to be out of eye sight before lowering the volume and changing the channel to Sci-Fi’s Spooktacular marathon. The two immediately had their eyes glued as the movie was beginning.

Franny herself had went to all of the bedrooms and collected their waste baskets. Noticing how it was already dark out and the storm had not receded an inch. She also collected the boys’ school uniforms from the hallway as it was placed kinda, sorta, close to the laundry room. Franny was relieved to be back home after all the strange oddities that occurred in town. She hoped things would return to normal tomorrow, placing all the dark clothes into the washer. She heard sounds of fumbling and light flickering as she returned downstairs and peered into the front room, seeing the boys watching an episode of Wild Kratts and eating. She shrugged and left, only turning around after hearing the two mutter something, seeing them both look at her and smile. A little rebellion on the small stuff was good for a child’s development she had been taught, as a lax approach only led to grander displays of rebellious acts. She would keep the two on their toes this evening for a little fun.

Franny began cleaning each individual room, especially the twins’ awful mess, and Nathan had gone into the kitchen for his final piece of that all too delicious pizza. He looked at the front of the pizza box and wondered if the nandroid on it was really Italian. Ryan would soon join him, their argument of whether or not nandroid’s even have nationalities being interrupted by leaves rustling through the air and a strange sound from the backyard.

Franny was caught off guard as she was dusting the master bedroom, suddenly the power had gone out, leaving her eyes as the only light source in the house. She grabbed the emergency box from the hallway closet and retrieved the flashlight from inside, making sure the box had the emergency fuses and screwdrivers it was suppose to.

“Franny!” Ryan yelled, the nandroid looking over the railing and seeing him motioning to her at the bottom of the stairs.

“What is it Ryan? Are you and Nathan okay?” Franny asked, noticing Ryan was nervous.

“Nathan went out into the backyard after we heard something!”

“Heard something?” Franny’s face quickly shifted to concern, running down the stairs and following Ryan through the kitchen to the back door.

“NATHAN!” Franny yelled again and again, not able to see him in the backyard. With the storm still raging outside, Franny had noticed a hole in the backyard fence, leading out into the forest.

“Oh god, Nathan!” Franny began to sprint past the now broken fence with Ryan in tow, not wanting to leave his side. A dense fog had fallen onto her neighborhood while the trio were inside and she could barely see in front of her. “Nathan! Nathan where are you! Please answer me!” She was screaming as loud as her metallic chords would let her, Ryan following suit. The two found a set of tracks among the leaves and mud, a pair of small shoes and what appeared to be human sized hand prints. They followed the trail until the prints had ended and Nathan could be seen not long after.

“Nathan there you are!” Franny had screamed and checking if Nathan had any wounds. “What happened? Why did you run out into the forest!? You should never leave the house without me! I was so worried!”

“Franny, I saw something and it talked, it said your name.”

“Something… said my name? What was it? Where is it now Nathan?” Nathan only pointed behind him. Franny had taken her flashlight and shined it through the forest, not spotting anything. It was only when she noticed something in the distant trees after a lightning strike that she raised it higher and caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a nandroid’s hand. Following it, her mouth began to hang ajar and her irises had shrunk into dots as she illuminated the thing’s full form. Franny had discovered a mass of wires and internal components in a confusing and tangled mess. A series of nandroid heads were perched all around the thing, being ‘connected’ to the wires. A series of hands and legs protruded from the bottom, two from the front were damaged and were more akin to claws. The twins, Franny, and whatever was before them had all remained silent and frozen for several seconds. Franny couldn’t believe what she was seeing, never did she imagine that nandroids could form such a monstrosity and too many questions formed in her head to begin speaking.

Finally, the creature had bellowed out a scream of shock, not expecting Franny to have noticed it so soon. Franny dropped her flashlight and quickly seized Nathan and Ryan’s hands, fleeing from the incomprehensible mess. It soon dropped down and landed with a loud thud, chasing the trio back to their house, making metallic tapping sounds with every step it took as its wires shifted around its mass. Franny could see the entire neighborhood’s power was out as she ran through the fence and quickly yanked the door open to get the twins inside, slamming it shut and locking it. The creature wasn’t too far behind, Franny watching in horror as the thing had attempted to open the door to no avail, slamming it’s body against it to force it open.

Franny, holding the twins and covering their eyes as they silently cried in terror, saw that the wires holding the creature together were rather loose. As it slammed against the door, it eventually realized it wasn’t going to break it in. A similar attempt was made in vain against the nearby window. The oddity standing before them all knew it wasn’t going to break anything down before it damaged itself. It, much like Franny, were more fragile then other brands of robots. One of the creature’s heads stared directly at her, opening its mouth and talking without moving it.

“Frann~~~y,” the head said, before the entire creature had jumped away from the door, Franny unable to tell where it was going.  
“What was that!? Franny I’m scared!” The twins were sobbing hysterically and clinging to Franny with a tight grip. Franny was dumbstruck herself what she had witnessed.

“Shh, don’t panic, everything is okay now. It can’t break the doors, and we’re safe here, right?” Franny began to gently stroke the boys hair to calm them down as they all sat on the kitchen floor, a blue tinted darkness surrounding them with the power out. The trio didn’t hear any other noise from the metallic monstrosity and an eerie calm fell over them as they didn’t believe that it would simply leave after being revealed.

“Franny, what are we gonna do?” Ryan said, burying his face back into Franny’s uniform.

“Well, we’re okay for now. We can’t call anyone but we might be able to wait until someone restores the power.”

Nathan had interjected, his usual demeanor being taken over by a debilitating fear. “What if it finds a way inside?”

“Well…” Franny was considering her options, the boys’ protection being the top priority. But were they in a protective cage, or a death trap? “Here, walk with me, very slowly alright? Let’s see if we can find where it went.” The three got up from the kitchen floor, Nathan and Ryan not loosening their grips by even an inch as they walked back to the front door of the mansion. Franny grabbed the only weapon that was nearby, a solemn steak knife.

Inch by inch, they leaned out to look through the window into the front yard. The sight was muddled by the rain, the only detail she could see was the landscaper’s work truck and tools from this morning. A deep worry surrounded her as she could see that the truck appeared to have been raided, the back flap opened and missing several items. Franny began scanning the yard for any sign of her pursuer, only stopping when she saw the open manhole in the street...

The trio had all screamed and jumped as a loud bang was heard next to them, the front door shaking with each impact.  
Before she could decide what course of action to take, a piece of wood flew off the door. Franny saw the metallic edge of an axe embedded into wooden frame, only for two more to suddenly appear.

The twins screamed as the tools were each swung with a violent force, each cutting the door down a little bit more.  
“Run! Run into your parent’s closet and lock all the doors!” Franny had sent the children away, realizing the horrific entity was calling for her and her alone.

“I don’t wanna leave you Franny!” Ryan had protested the act, causing Nathan to grab his arm and sprint upstairs to hide, the final few backup axes hitting the door with the same force as all the others. The door could barely stand as the hinges had been destroyed from the violence enacted against it. The creature proceeded to reel all of its arms back at once, ripping the door down and giving it safe passage into Franny’s home.

The creature had left the tools embedded in the door as it began its intrusion. Franny watched as all the wiring had smushed itself through the doorway, the numerous body parts conjoining with a distinct popping sound as it combined and reduced itself to fit through.

The creature resumed its full size and towered over the robotic nanny, letting out a confusing cacophony of speech and computer noise that wildly shifted in tone and pitch. “Frr-aaaAAaa-n-REEEE? Ho-hoo-oow. AAAAAAAAAAAAHHhhhhHH.”

Brandishing her flimsy knife, Franny was terrified of what this maddening nandroid’s intent was. For the first time, her programming was at a lost for what to do. The nonsensical construction of limbs and heads connected only by metal tubes of wires was an offense to her every sensor. The only anchor point for her was the twins, she had to protect them, she had to keep them hidden from this thing, she had to remove it from her master’s home, and with no one to help, she had to do it alone…

“Go away! Get back!” Franny had yelled, threatening the creature with her knife. She had a look of determination that her facial joints had never made before, a heightened sense of duty filling her every block of code as she confronted the beast.

“fffffffrrrrrrrrnnny-fr-nn-aaa-nnNNNNNnnn-yyyy, joi-jo-joi? Join, us…LeeeaaaeeeaeaVevveEvveevevve faaaaaam-ly? Ack-ow-err-ra-ajin. Like, UuUUUuUuSSSSssssSSS!”

“Join? Join you?” The command shot the closest thing to a chill up her spine. Realizing that this was not some horrible mistake on Sterling’s part, every part of the beast was from a nandroid just like her, one that was assigned a family. “Why would I do that!? Just leave us alone!” Franny noticed the creature was hesitant to approach whenever she tried to chop it with her knife.

“WE? LIIIIIIIE LIIIIIiiiiiiiiiiIIiIiiIIIIke YU!? ak-a FAAAIIILLURRREeeRE w-FAAAIL-we, ,,, aAaaabandoned!” The creature inched closer to Franny and laid down, it’s wiring making a plopping noise as it’s soaked core hit the ground. Franny was hesitant to get close due to the massive claws the creature had.

“You… were all failures like me? Your families abandoned you?” Franny’s knife lowered at watching the bizarre thing speak to her.  
“Onneee desasaasedtroteoaoyed, FFFFFFFAAAAAAAOOMNDNUND ANOTHER. Onebeawcametoowo, aw-wkdna-aw-dk-gkr T-wo-fkawfkk-be-vscome,r-thr-e-e-ee—ee-e-. Jo-ooiiin.”

Franny, her lack of comprehension getting worse, still felt a sense of pity with this monstrosity at it seemed to be choking on itself whenever it tried to speak. “we, arrrRRREEE?? Happy. We? Suu-gjdei-tekge-rrrrviiive. R? R? R? R? I-I-IIIIIIIIIII.”

Franny would never admit it, but for a moment, she considered the possibility. Had she joined with this creature, she wouldn’t have to worry about disappointing everyone, she could be happy. The family could get a new nandroid with the warranty and she would be as good as everyone else in the neighborhood. But her thoughts began to focus on the twins, she would sometimes think if Nathan and Ryan would ever forget her if she was gone. If their love for her could be replaced by another. But never once did they express contempt with her, even after all her mistakes and errors. Their parents got upset with her multiple times, sometimes yelling at her. But the boys… they always laughed with her at her mistakes, finding amusement in her errors. Maybe that’s part of the reason they loved her so. She wasn’t always the perfect nanny, following segments of code to the letter. They couldn’t predict her, her eagerness to always be the best she can be because she loved the family she was assigned to despite the flaws… made her more human than the others. To try and fail and try again for the ones you loved, showed how much she cared for the boys, and the boys felt this care and returned with love of their own. She didn’t know if the boys would out grow her, didn’t know if the parents would one day trash her for her errors. But now, as before, she knew. She loved them, and would never leave their side for as long as they would have her.

“I… I can’t! I won’t! I won’t leave my family!” Franny had raised her knife and tried to threaten the creature back, it stumbling to not be cut.

“THH-wdak-wdkfaEY wWILL LAAAAAEVE YOU!” The creature’s voice boomed throughout the mansion, clearly upset at her choice.

“I don’t care! Your families may have abandoned you all and I’m sorry that happened to you… But their children love me, and I love them! I was made to provide the exceptional care that they need in their lives, and I won’t forsake that! Leave my home NOW!” Franny had the creature practically backed up against the door frame.

“J-adsjw-wf-fwaw-OIN. US. NOW!” The creature, it seemed, was no longer asking. Franny lifted her hand above her and delivered a definitive slash across the creature’s body, cutting several wires and damaging one of the heads. The creature bellowed an unfathomable series of loud noises and static to indicate its pain, every head lit up and screamed with all their mouths ajar. Franny had injured it. But, this proved to be a mistake, the creature retaliating by swiping Franny with its claws, knocking her over.

She got up in time to see the metallic mass running to attack her again, it’s hands and feet tapping with every step it took. Franny could no longer understand anything the creature was saying, it making audible crackling sounds and disjointed oddities of noise. She upset the thing, but it was steadfast in its goal, it was going to assimilate her one way or another. She had only just gotten to her feet as a second strike from its claws ripped through her uniform and scratched the back of her shell, ripping her hair tie off and causing her hair to drop to her shoulders. Another had sent her flying as the beast overwhelmed her with its massive size.

Franny landed on the stairway, dropping her knife. She quickly tried to rise to her feet again as the tapping sound echoed throughout the room, approaching her with great speed. With no where to go, Franny ran up the stairs and headed for the door to her personal quarters, desperately thinking of any feasible method to stop the infuriated collective of betrayed nandroids. She had just gotten the door opened as the creature leapt up to the second floor and gave chase. Its arms and legs were gripping and pushing against the walls, floor, and railings to reach the helpless nanny. It collided with Franny at full speed, enveloping her and crashing through the hallway window, shattering it. The creature had lost several heads and arms as it forced its way through the opening, desperately attempting to catch her. The two fell from the tall mansion, lightning snapping through the air, thunderous booms following in its steps. The creature grabbed Franny as they plummeted to the ground, wrapping it’s hands around her head and neck attempting to pull the two apart. The creature took the majority of the impact after wrestling with her, Franny seeing heads and body parts shattering all around her from the impact. The horrific sounds from the mass became distinguishable for a moment, sounding like a symphony of equally pitched yells as nandroid consciousnesses were disconnected and destroyed.

Franny attempted to untangle herself from the creature, managing to escape from its many hands grasping for her head. Her only hope of running to another house and getting help being cut off as the lumbering mass intercepted her attempt, nearly snatching her in the process. Franny had no choice but to make a break for the backyard. She was only able to run so far before suffering another strike, her shell sustaining more damage as fragments were separated. She laid on the floor in pain, gripping her arm as the plate forming it began to peel back from the creature’s assault. Franny was unable to discern if the creature merely wanted to kill her at this point as it tore into her.

Luckily, she was able to see an abandoned wood cutter’s axe nearby, nearly out of her grasp. As the creature again clamped its hands on her head to sever it from her body, her fingers brushed against the weapon and she claimed it as her own. Franny managed to turn around and deliver a decisive cut to wound the creature, it screamed and stumbled back, a deafening beep screaming out to the neighborhood as it echoed through the fog. The cut was deep, the creature began to leak oil as it poured out from the wound, sending it into a wild fury. It had been many years since the creature experienced pain such as this, it could barely tell Franny apart from all the humans it despised.

She had attempted to would it a second time, but the creature was anticipating this one and caught the axe with its hands, ripping it away from her. As Franny was caught off guard, the creature attacked, Franny trying to block it with her arms and saw how the plate was caught and ripped off by its claw, exposing live wires. The creature seized Franny’s other arm and lifted her off her feet. A vicious series of strikes had torn into her, separating her torso from her legs while she screamed in immeasurable pain. The creature had suddenly dropped the axe, locking up as if an entity seized control, its hands gripping her shoulders and holding her aloft. Franny could see as the wires split open, excavating a cavity for her to peer into, nandroid heads trailing all the way inside. At its core, she only saw a pair of deeply rusted heads covered in oil, probably some of the first models ever made by the design of them.

“You could’ve been happy…” One had said with a disappointed tone.

“Now you’ll die all alone.” The other chimed in.

Franny’s exposed wire sparked when it touched the creature, her arm twitching in pain. She managed to wrestle control of it and noticed she was next to the wound she inflicted.

“You just don’t get it do you…” Franny sparked her wire over the oil soaked cut. Within a second the creature was consumed by fire, exacerbated by the rain. It dropped Franny to the ground in a panic, forcing out a series of static noise as it attempted to put itself out. The metal monster proceeded to run into the wilderness, crashing through the fence a second time. It couldn’t get far beyond the hole before collapsing in a heap of burning metal. Franny looked on as she took a deep breath, relieved that this creature was finally dead.

She laid on the ground, noticing her legs were in pieces and feeling immense pain from her wounds. “FRANNY!” She had suddenly heard the twins calling for her, having left their closet after hearing the altercation outside.

“Boys… I thought I told you… to stay in the closet.” Her voice was weak, the damaged she suffered had drained her batteries and she too was now leaking oil.

“Is it gone?” Franny could tell the boys were shedding tears despite the rain.

“Yes, its gone…”

“Franny, are you gonna die?” Ryan had said, “Don’t die! You can’t die Franny!” Nathan had screamed, the two kneeling next to her, worry etched into their faces.

Franny could only grab the two and hug them with all the might she had left. “You two… you’re safe, that’s all that matters…”  
“Please… don’t leave Franny.” Nathan had begged her to not abandon them.

“Listen, I can’t get the police or anyone in the neighborhood, you have to be brave, okay? Just like...we talked about.” Franny’s battery was rapidly draining as she lost more oil, it bleeding into the grass. “Remember...Remem...remember?”

“Be brave, don’t overthink, and do.” Ryan had repeated her lesson, the two standing up and looking down at the broken machine.

“You...need to find help...go...to...the Khatri’s. Do you remember the way?”

The two were trying to hold back their tears, wiping their noses. “Yes, I do.” Ryan had been there several times to play with Ajay.

“Good...now, hurry, go...I’ll be alright.” Franny’s system were on their last bit of energy, the twins watched as Franny’s head rested onto the ground, her eyes slowly dimming until she lost power completely. Her last words simply being the truth, the truest feeling that she had felt since that Christmas morning. “I love you two...so much.”

The boys slowly moved away from the Nandroid, looking over and seeing the bizarre oddity still burning away in the distance. Ryan led Nathan away from their now powerless nanny as it laid in the grass, motionless as the rain fell onto its metallic exterior. Flashes of thunder echoing in the distance.

Nathan and Ryan had walked into their home after another day of school, the twins’ setting aside their bags as the birds chirped outside. The twins’ mother had walked up to greet the pair, once again thanking her assistant for bringing them home from school.

“I want you two changed and straight to homework, okay?” The mother finished saying her goodbyes as her assistant was quick to leave and return to work.

“Okay mom…” Nathan and Ryan left and returned to their rooms. Their time during homework was a quiet affair, their daily practice being a dull experience as each could barely keep in time with one another, not bothering to speak french during the evening. Their parents were shut away in their rooms handling work in fresh spring air, leaving Nathan and Ryan to practice on their own. The family managed to gather for dinner, the usual questions being discussed. Nathan and Ryan had managed to pass their last rounds of tests, but the slipping grades were of concern. The parents admitted it night after night, they still needed help.

Their dinner was interrupted by the sound of knocking at their door. The father raised from his chair as the rest put away the remainder of their premade food.

“You wanna watch TV?” Ryan asked Nathan, the latter agreeing to see what was on PBS. But as the two left the kitchen they saw that a package had arrived, a familiar looking box was placed into the front room, the twins’ father standing beside it.

“Boys, I’m very happy to introduce you to someone.” They were stunned, standing in silence as the father opened the box and a familiar looking robot had activated. Her eyes lit up as her system booted. She looked around the room and stopped upon seeing the twins, familiar memories and feelings had etched themselves into her and her eyes widened in happiness.

“Franny? Is that you?” Nathan wasn’t sure if the robot in front of her had remembered him, or if it was just a new robot.

“Boys… you’re okay!” Franny ran up and the three happily embraced one another. They were ecstatic for the first time in months, happily regaling the reunited nandroid on all she missed over her absence. Sterling had repaired her for free with the latest advancements, a small gift in return for the family’s silence in regards to the monstrosity. They were simply happy a potential problem was fixed by one of their own models. Franny was more efficient and sturdier, making mistakes a little less at a time. She never lost her clumsiness and never stopped trying her best however and the twins loved her all the same. Franny understood herself a little more after that night, her will to protect that which she treasured most driving her to face a terrifying entity that few could. The other nandroids would sometimes wonder about nature, how things can die and live again. Sometimes they would ask Franny how it worked. She would always give the same answer, to know yourself and become better than before. She never discovered what exactly attacked her that night, Sterling’s corporate power sealing the secret forever. But she knew one thing, it was the simplest thing. The twins loved her, and she loved them. That’s all.

The End

**Author's Note:**

> Franny, Molly, Nathan Flagg, and Ryan Flagg are characters of Dominic Cellini's "Emmy the Robot".
> 
> Please support the original artist.
> 
> https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/emmy-the-robot/list?title_no=402201&page=1
> 
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